Regulation on Zoning and Permit Procedures for Wind and Solar Power Plants (Türkiye) — Unofficial English Translation

PART ONE – Introductory Provisions

Article 1 – Purpose and scope

(1) The purpose of this Regulation is to lay down the procedures and principles to be applied in the following procedures, carried out by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, for wind or solar power plants holding a pre-licence or a generation licence:

a) approval of zoning plans and approval of parcellation plans,

b) issue of building permits and grant of occupancy permits,

c) issue of business opening and operating licences.

(2) Without prejudice to the provision of Article 4 of the Zoning Law No. 3194 dated 3/5/1985, this Regulation covers the procedures and principles relating to the conduct by the Ministry of the following procedures for wind or solar power plants holding a pre-licence or a generation licence:

a) approval of zoning plans at every scale, of parcellation plans and of additions to and amendments of them,

b) issue of the building permit, the occupancy permit and the business opening and operating licence, and the changes, additions, alterations and renewals relating to them.

Article 2 – Legal basis

(1) This Regulation has been prepared on the basis of Additional Article 1 of the Law No. 5346 dated 10/5/2005 on the Use of Renewable Energy Resources for the Purpose of Generating Electrical Energy.

Article 3 – Definitions and abbreviations

(1) In this Regulation:

a) Ministry: the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources,

b) Environmental plan (çevre düzeni planı): the plan, prepared in conformity with the objective and strategy decisions of spatial strategy plans where these exist, which shows basic geographical data such as forests, rivers, lakes and agricultural land, determines general land-use decisions for urban and rural settlement, development areas and sectors such as industry, agriculture, tourism, transport and energy, ensures the relationships between settlements and sectors and the balance between protection and use, may be prepared at regional, basin or provincial level using a representation appropriate to its scale on maps at a scale of 1/50,000 or 1/100,000, and is made as a whole together with its plan notes and report,

c) EPDK: the Energy Market Regulatory Authority,

ç) Technical supervisor (fenni mesul): the members of the profession, having the expertise required by the surveys and projects annexed to the permit, who undertake on behalf of the public the supervision of the construction of the building, together with all its materials and installations, in accordance with the plan, the permit, the surveys and projects annexed to the permit, the standards and the technical specifications,

d) Solar power plant (GES): an electricity generation facility based on solar energy as its main or auxiliary source, together with its auxiliary facilities,

e) Business opening and operating licence: the permission granted for wind or solar power plants holding a pre-licence or a generation licence to open and operate,

f) Licence holder: a legal entity to which a pre-licence or a generation licence has been granted by EPDK,

g) Spatial strategy plan: the plan which relates national development policies and regional development strategies at the spatial level; assesses the economic and social potential, objectives and strategies of regional plans while also taking into account transport relationships and physical thresholds; determines spatial strategies for bringing underground and above-ground resources into the economy, for protecting and developing natural, historical and cultural assets, and for guiding settlements, the transport system and urban, social and technical infrastructure; establishes the relationship between sectoral spatial policies and strategies; is prepared using schematic and graphic language on maps at a scale of 1/250,000, 1/500,000 or above; may be made for the country as a whole and for regions where deemed necessary; and forms a whole with its sectoral and thematic sheets and report,

ğ) Master zoning plan (nazım imar planı): the plan prepared, in conformity with the general principles, objectives and decisions of the environmental plan where one exists, on approved base maps with the cadastral situation marked where available, at a scale of 1/5,000 or, in metropolitan municipalities, at any scale between 1/5,000 and 1/25,000, as a whole together with its plan notes and detailed report, in order to show the general manner of use of land parcels, the main zone types, the future population densities of the zones, the directions, sizes and principles of development of the various urban and rural settlement areas, the urban, social and technical infrastructure areas and the transport systems, and to serve as the basis for the preparation of implementation zoning plans,

h) Pre-licence: the permission granted for a specific period to legal entities wishing to engage in generation activity so that they may obtain the approvals, permits, licences and the like required to start their generation facility investments,

ı) Plan author (plan müellifi): the natural person holding a competency certificate of the competency group appropriate for undertaking the preparation of spatial plans of every scale and type defined in Law No. 3194, or the natural person who, among the shareholders of legal entities holding a competency certificate of the appropriate competency group, holds an equal or greater share in the distribution of shares according to the professional group of the partners,

i) Project author (proje müellifi): the natural or legal person who has chosen architectural and engineering design services as its field of activity and prepares the surveys and projects of the building,

j) Wind power plant (RES): an electricity generation facility based on wind energy as its main or auxiliary source, together with its auxiliary facilities,

k) Implementation zoning plan (uygulama imar planı): the plan prepared, in conformity with the principles and fundamentals of the master zoning plan and taking into account the conditions of the locality and the general characteristics of the planning area, the purpose and need of use of the building, accessibility, sustainability and environmental impact, on approved base maps at a scale of 1/1,000 with the cadastral situation marked where available, as a whole together with its plan notes and detailed report, which shows in detail the building blocks, their uses, the building order, building height, building coverage ratio, floor area ratio or emsal, building setback distance, front façade line, subdivision line, step line, block division line, vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle roads, transport relationships, parks, squares, and urban, social and technical infrastructure areas and, where necessary, decisions on building and implementation such as parcel sizes, parcel frontage and depth, rear façade line, road level and the number of storeys below that level and the number of independent units, together with the implementation stages that will form the basis of the zoning implementation programmes necessary for implementation and other information,

l) Generation licence: the permission granted by EPDK under the Electricity Market Law No. 6446 dated 14/3/2013 to legal entities so that they may carry on electricity generation activity in the market,

m) Site plan (vaziyet planı): the plan at a scale of 1/500, 1/200 or 1/100 showing, numerically and graphically and in accordance with the technical legislation, the building or buildings to be constructed on the parcel according to the coordinates in the setting-out sketch (aplikasyon krokisi), and showing the garden layout, open car parks and car park entrances, fire escapes, building approach distances and levels, the north direction and the technical infrastructure on the parcel,

n) Building setting-out project (yapı aplikasyon projesi): the project prepared and signed by survey engineers, on the basis of the setting-out sketch of the parcel and according to the site plan, in order to set out the building on the land, in which the building setback distances shown in the zoning plan in force and the corner coordinates and reference points according to the building projects are to be marked in the national coordinate system,

o) Occupancy permit (yapı kullanma izin belgesi): the document approved by the Ministry showing that the building has been completed in accordance with the projects annexed to the permit and permitting the use of the building,

ö) Building permit (yapı ruhsatı): the approved official permit document issued by the relevant administration for a parcel following the approval of the documents and projects provided for in the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 3/7/2017 and numbered 30113.

PART TWO – Zoning and Parcellation Plans

Article 4 – Planning principles and fundamentals

(1) Planning work shall be carried out by the plan author, making use of the base map, the geological and geotechnical report and institutional thresholds, in line with the opinions of the relevant institutions and the general principles and fundamentals of urban planning. The zoning plan, its amendments and its revision form a whole together with the sheets, legend, plan notes and plan explanatory report.

(2) Zoning plans shall be prepared in conformity with higher-scale plans, such as spatial strategy plans and environmental plans, where these exist. Where necessary, amendments to higher-scale plans shall be made by the plan author, and zoning plans may not be approved by the Ministry before the higher-scale plan amendments have been approved by the relevant administration.

(3) Base maps shall be prepared, at the instance of the licence holder, in line with the provisions of the Regulation on the Production of Large-Scale Maps and Map Information that entered into force by Council of Ministers Decision No. 2018/11962 dated 30/4/2018, and shall be approved by the relevant administration.

(4) Zoning plans shall be drawn on coordinated base maps, and the cadastral situation, where it exists, shall also be shown on the maps. In areas falling within the scope of the Coastal Law No. 3621 dated 4/4/1990, the shoreline boundary must have been marked.

(5) Zoning plans may not be prepared or approved in areas for which there is no approved geological-geotechnical survey report. Geological-geotechnical surveys shall be prepared in accordance with the procedures and principles laid down by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and shall be approved by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.

(6) The opinions of the relevant institutions and organisations on the plan shall be obtained by the plan author.

(7) Institutions and organisations are responsible for providing the information and documents to be used in the planning work, together with their clear and comprehensive opinion, in a form that will constitute data for planning. Institutions and organisations shall submit their digital data through the National Geographic Information System Portal in the standards determined by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.

(8) Institutions and organisations are obliged to give their opinions within thirty days at the latest. In cases where long-term work such as surveys and analyses is required for the opinion to be given, an additional period not exceeding thirty days shall be granted at the request of the relevant public institutions and organisations. Where no opinion is given within this period, it shall be deemed that there is no negative opinion on the plan.

(9) The master and implementation zoning plan processes may be conducted and approved simultaneously. Where, during the preparation of the master zoning plan, the opinions of institutions and organisations or the data are obtained at the level of detail of the implementation zoning plan and the institutional opinions are up to date, no separate opinion or data need be requested for the implementation zoning plan.

(10) Administrative and accommodation uses directed at the needs of the electricity generation facility may be provided for in zoning plans, by being shown in the plan notes.

(11) No facility may be built other than for the purpose of use specified in the plan, and the facilities to be built may not be used for other than their purpose.

(12) For the plant structures to be built in wind and solar power plants, the maximum height (Hmax, yençok) shall be determined according to the height required by the technology.

(13) The approval of the plan or plan amendment by the Ministry does not remove the responsibility of the plan author and the licence holder.

(14) Where deemed necessary, additional information and documents shall be requested by the Ministry.

Article 5 – Submission of plans

(1) Zoning plan files shall be prepared in accordance with the Zoning Law, the Regulation on the Preparation of Spatial Plans published in the Official Gazette dated 14/6/2014 and numbered 29030 and the principles set out in this Regulation, and shall be submitted to the Ministry.

(2) The Ministry shall examine the plan file in terms of its content and conformity with the legislation. Plan proposals not found suitable and deficiencies in content shall be notified to the plan author. A period of thirty days shall be granted for the errors and deficiencies to be remedied. Where the corrections are not completed and the Ministry is not applied to within this period, the file shall be returned.

Article 6 – Approval and entry into force of plans

(1) Zoning plans enter into force upon approval.

(2) Before zoning plans and the additions and amendments relating to them are approved, it is mandatory to obtain a Plan Process Number through the system of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.

(3) The front face of each sheet of finalised plans shall be stamped with the Plan Process Number and the date and number of approval written on it.

Article 7 – Announcement, public display process and finalisation of plans

(1) Zoning plans approved by the Ministry shall be announced on the Ministry’s website for a period of fifteen days from the date of approval.

(2) Where there is no objection to the plan, approved plans become final at the end of the announcement period.

(3) Finalised zoning plans shall be published on the Ministry’s website and sent to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change to be archived through the electronic National Geographic Information System infrastructure. The finalisation of the zoning plans shall also be notified to the relevant governorship and municipalities.

Article 8 – Objection assessment process

(1) Objections to plans approved by the Ministry shall be made in writing to the Ministry within the announcement period. The Ministry shall assess and decide on the objections within fifteen days of the end of the public display period. Where the objection is rejected, the plan becomes final on the date of the rejection decision without any further approval procedure.

(2) Where the objection is accepted, the public display process shall be restarted for the parts of the plan changed in line with the objection.

Article 9 – Principles of land and plot readjustment

(1) Land readjustment shall be carried out according to the finalised implementation zoning plan.

(2) Parcellation plans or change declarations prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on the Production of Large-Scale Maps and Map Information, the Regulation on Maps and Plans Subject to Registration published in the Official Gazette dated 6/8/1973 and numbered 14617, and the Regulation on Land and Plot Readjustments published in the Official Gazette dated 22/2/2020 and numbered 31047 shall be submitted to the Ministry by the licence holder.

(3) Parcellation plans prepared within the scope of land and plot readjustment shall be approved if found suitable.

(4) Parcellation plans approved by the Ministry shall be announced on the Ministry’s website for a period of fifteen days from the date of approval. Where there is no objection to the plan, approved plans become final at the end of the announcement period.

(5) Objections to plans approved by the Ministry shall be made in writing to the Ministry within the announcement period. The Ministry shall assess and decide on the objections within fifteen days of the end of the public display period. Where the objection is rejected, the plan becomes final on the date of the rejection decision without any further approval procedure.

(6) Finalised parcellation plans or change declarations shall be sent to the relevant cadastre directorate. They shall be checked and approved by the relevant cadastre directorate and registered by the land registry directorates.

PART THREE – Building Permit, Occupancy Permit and Business Opening and Operating Licence

Article 10 – Principles of the building permit

(1) Where the geological-geotechnical survey work prepared for the preparation of the zoning plan for solar power plants is considered sufficient by the Ministry, no additional soil investigation report shall be sought for the building permit issued by the Ministry.

(2) Procedures relating to address and numbering shall be carried out by the relevant administrations.

(3) Buildings whose construction is not started within two years of the date of the permit, or which are not completed within the five-year permit period, and whose permit is not renewed within the period, shall be considered as buildings without a permit.

(4) In wind power plants, the building construction area is the foundation area of the wind turbines, including below the natural or levelled ground.

(5) In solar power plants, the building construction area is the total of the areas covered on the ground surface by the panel support legs.

(6) Alterations and renewals relating to building permits shall be made by the administration that issued the permit.

Article 11 – Building permit process

(1) The licence holder shall have the architectural and engineering projects prepared by project authors to whom a notarised power of attorney has been given, in accordance with the relevant law, plan, regulation, project preparation principles, the standards of the Turkish Standards Institution, environmental conditions and the rules of science, art and health.

(2) The architectural project, the setting-out sketch of the parcel, the building setting-out project, the structural project, the mechanical installation project and the electrical installation project shall be submitted to the Ministry. No electrical installation project or mechanical installation project shall be sought for wind turbines in wind power plants or for solar panels and their support systems in solar power plants.

(3) In addition to the projects, the application petition must be accompanied by: the title deed, or a document replacing the title deed, or the court decision on the seizure of the immovable given on the basis of an urgent expropriation decision; the soil investigation report; the zoning status certificate; the project author’s letter of undertaking; the technical supervisor’s letter of undertaking; the site manager’s service contract and letter of undertaking; the registration and office registration certificates of the author, the technical supervisor and the site manager issued by the relevant professional chamber; and the documents relating to the building contractor. For solar power plant facilities, in respect of immovables subject to private ownership, an easement agreement or a lease agreement of not less than ten years and consistent with the term of the generation licence may also be submitted, provided that it is annotated in the land register.

(4) The zoning status certificate may also be issued by the Ministry upon the application of the licence holder or its authorised representative.

(5) Where no deficient and/or erroneous matter is identified as a result of the examination of the permit application, the building permit shall be issued within thirty days of the date of application. Otherwise, it shall be requested that the deficiencies be completed and the application be brought into conformity with the legislation. After the deficiencies have been completed, the building permit shall be issued following the same process.

Article 12 – Occupancy permit

(1) Following the construction of a building whose building permit was issued by the Ministry, the licence holder or its authorised representative shall request an occupancy permit from the Ministry within the framework of the relevant legislation and the matters specified in this Regulation.

(2) In the application for an occupancy permit, a conformity report prepared by the technical supervisors stating that the building has been constructed in accordance with the relevant legislation, the projects annexed to the permit, the relevant standards and the rules of science, art and health shall be submitted.

(3) Where no deficient or erroneous matter is identified as a result of the examinations relating to the application, the occupancy permit shall be issued by the Ministry within thirty days of the date of application. Otherwise, it shall be requested that the deficiencies be completed and the building be brought into conformity with the legislation. After the deficiencies have been completed, the occupancy permit shall be issued following the same process.

(4) In order for an occupancy permit to be issued for parts of the building that can be partially used, the common-use areas serving those parts must have been completed and be usable, and there must be no breach of the legislation in the building.

(5) Amendments relating to the occupancy permit shall be made by the Administration that issued the permit.

Article 13 – Business opening and operating licence

(1) The licence holder or its authorised representative may also apply to the Ministry for a business opening and operating licence in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Business Opening and Operating Licences that entered into force by Council of Ministers Decision No. 2005/9207 dated 14/7/2005.

(2) Where, in the examination carried out by the Ministry, it is determined that the application complies with the provisions of the Regulation on Business Opening and Operating Licences, the business opening and operating licence shall be issued within five days of the date of application. However, this document, issued on the basis of a declaration, does not create any acquired right.

(3) The business opening and operating licence becomes final through the checks to be carried out on site within thirty days of the date on which it was issued. Where a non-conformity is identified in the check, a period of fifteen days shall be granted, once only, for it to be remedied. If the non-conformity is not remedied within this period, the licence shall be cancelled.

PART FOUR – Miscellaneous and Final Provisions

Article 14 – Buildings started without a permit or contrary to the permit

(1) Upon a report to the Ministry, a determination by the Ministry, or the Ministry otherwise becoming aware that construction has been started without a permit at facilities whose zoning plans have been approved by the Ministry, the procedures to be carried out within the framework of Articles 32 and 42 of Law No. 3194 shall be established by the Ministry and the metropolitan municipality, the municipality or the special provincial administration shall be informed.

(2) Upon a report to the Ministry, a determination by the Ministry or by the technical supervisor, or the Ministry otherwise becoming aware that buildings whose building permit was issued by the Ministry are contrary to the permit, the procedures to be carried out within the framework of Articles 32 and 42 of Law No. 3194 shall be established by the Ministry and the metropolitan municipality, the municipality or the special provincial administration shall be informed.

(3) Where a demolition decision is taken concerning buildings, the demolition shall be carried out, upon the notification of the Ministry, by the metropolitan municipality, the municipality or the special provincial administration, as relevant. The demolition costs shall be collected from the licence holder.

Article 15 – Cases not provided for

(1) For matters not regulated in this Regulation, the principles set out in the relevant legislation shall apply.

(2) For all work and procedures carried out under this Regulation, licence holders must submit to the Ministry the letter of undertaking set out in Annex-1.

(3) The Ministry may carry out on-site examinations and investigations under this Regulation. Except for the costs to be borne by the Ministry under the relevant legislation, the related costs shall be borne by the licence holder.

Article 16 – Entry into force

(1) This Regulation enters into force on the date of its publication.

Article 17 – Enforcement

(1) The provisions of this Regulation shall be enforced by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

ANNEX-1 – Letter of Undertaking

To the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Türkiye

Within the scope of the Regulation on Zoning and Permit Procedures for Electricity Generation Facilities Based on Wind and Solar Energy, I irrevocably declare and undertake:

(*) No change whatsoever may be made by the applicant to the content of this letter of undertaking.

Official sources and translation notes

• Rüzgâr ve Güneş Enerjisine Dayalı Elektrik Üretim Tesislerinin İmar ve Ruhsat İşlemlerine İlişkin Yönetmelik, Official Gazette 24.07.2026 / 33319 — mevzuat.gov.tr
• Law No. 5346 on the Use of Renewable Energy Resources for the Purpose of Generating Electrical Energy, Additional Article 1 (legal basis) — mevzuat.gov.tr
• Zoning Law No. 3194 (İmar Kanunu) — mevzuat.gov.tr

Translation conventions: article, paragraph and sub-paragraph numbering follows the Turkish text, including Turkish letters (ç, ğ, ı, ö) used as sub-paragraph letters. Turkish planning terms are given in brackets where an English equivalent may be read differently. The Annex is reproduced as tables; the Turkish form must be used in applications.

Unofficial English translation prepared by Enpark for information purposes only. Only the Turkish text published in the Official Gazette is legally binding. Author: Can Cihan Yılmaz, Managing Partner.